Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 39: The Pursuit of Food
Six days had passed since Velvet arrived.
Today, we worked with full force, skipping our lunch break, and managed to finish all the farm work by early afternoon.
Since Velvet would be leaving before nightfall, I planned to prepare a final feast for her.
Even so… time really flew by.
Back when I was a company employee, I constantly checked the clock, wishing time would pass faster. Even during my hospital stay, the days felt agonizingly long due to boredom.
Now, the fact that time felt short meant I was truly enjoying my current life. I owed my gratitude to Sheila, Velvet, Lime, Thread, and Mash for being with me.
“Hey! Why are you just standing there all sentimental? We barely ate anything this morning, and I’m starving! Hurry up and make something to eat!”
“Apologies for rushing you, but I agree with Velvet-sama. I can’t wait to eat Sato-san’s cooking!”
“Sorry! I’ll start cooking right away, so please take a bath or something while you wait.”
Lost in thought, I hadn’t realized I had stopped moving until they both scolded me.
Especially Sheila—her eyes were serious. I quickly rushed to the kitchen to start preparing our meal.
Today’s dish would be doria, using the leftover rice from the omelette rice, along with chicken thighs, onions, shimeji mushrooms, milk, and tomatoes.
And of course, plenty of cheese.
This would also be a tomato-based dish, but the addition of white sauce made with milk would give it a completely different taste from the meat sauce spaghetti or omelette rice.
This villa had a large built-in oven, so I had always wanted to try making doria and pizza.
Since I had rice today, I opted for doria, but I definitely wanted to try making pizza soon.
With those thoughts in mind, I quickly prepped everything.
I already knew how to cook rice properly, so there were no concerns—everything was ready to bake.
I loaded the dish with generous amounts of cheese, placed it in the oven, and set the timer.
According to Sheila, it was a magical oven, so I had to be mindful of the heat to prevent burning before switching it on.
As the doria baked, I prepared minestrone as a side dish.
I silently thanked the versatile tomato as I finished making the minestrone. Right on time, the doria was also done baking.
The rich, savory aroma of melted cheese filled the air, making my stomach growl.
“It’s ready! Cheese-loaded doria and minestrone!”
“Whoa… it looks amazing! I can’t wait to eat it!”
“Wow! First omelette rice, and now this? Sato, were you a chef or something?”
“No, I could never be a professional chef with my skills. But I guess cooking was a bit easier in my world, so that might have influenced me.”
Back in Japan, I could get any ingredient I wanted, and professional chefs’ recipes were freely available online.
I could even watch videos of them cooking step by step.
Thinking about it now, it was crazy that pro chefs shared their recipes so openly.
I felt grateful for their generosity as I took my first bite of the doria after saying grace.
Delicious! Absolutely delicious!
The tomato-flavored rice, the creamy white sauce on top, and the generously added cheese all blended together perfectly—it was a flawless dish.
“Ah—hot! …But so good! Sato, you seriously should become a chef. This is better than anything I’ve eaten at the castle!”
“This is beyond amazing! Just eating this makes me feel like life is worth living!”
“I’m honored to hear that. But it’s not my skill—it’s just that the ingredients are high quality.”
“No need to be modest! I wouldn’t be able to make something this delicious even if I had all the same ingredients!”
“Me neither! Sato-san, you’re a genius!”
Being praised felt nice, but too much praise made me embarrassed.
Still, seeing their happy faces made it worth using my NP to make this dish.
Just like the omelette rice, we finished the doria in no time.
The minestrone was good too, but honestly, I felt like it needed just a bit more of a punch.
“Ahh… that was heavenly! The doria and minestrone were both amazing. Thank you for the meal, Sato-san!”
“I’ve said this many times, but it was truly delicious. I was never that interested in food before, but I feel like you’ve awakened something in me, and it’s honestly a little scary.”
“I’d be happy if you did! And if you find delicious food from all over the land, please bring it back here!”
“I’d love to try food from different places too!”
“Hmm… that does sound interesting, but honestly, I doubt I’ll find anything better than Sato’s cooking…”
Velvet crossed her arms, deep in thought.
It was true that most ingredients in this world were pretty mediocre. But surely, somewhere out there, there had to be hidden gourmet ingredients waiting to be discovered.
In fantasy worlds from games and anime, monsters were often used as ingredients.
Though this world didn’t seem to have that kind of culture, I had a feeling that, if explored, it could lead to some interesting discoveries.